November 8, 2007 | 12:00am
BAGUIO CITY – Ifugao Gov. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. welcomed help from the United States in the restoration of the famed Ifugao Rice Terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“I am honored that the US ambassador has shown interest in supporting efforts to preserve the indigenous culture of the Ifugaos,” Baguilat told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday morning.
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney announced here the other day the US government’s eagerness to support a program to preserve the famous man-made agricultural wonder straddling the Ifugao mountains.
Kenney, who was here Tuesday to host Veterans Day at the US Ambassador’s Residence in Camp John Hay, said she is going to Banaue next month to “enjoy” the Rice Terraces.
Banaue recently hit the headlines after US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell was killed while visiting the famous site.
The US Embassy has been closely monitoring the case now being heard in an Ifugao court.
But Kenney said the Campbell family from Fairfax, Virginia (USA) has not harbored any ill feelings against the Ifugaos.
“All the Campbell family feel is love for the Philippines,” she said.
All the more, Kenney said, the US government is looking forward to preserving the Rice Terraces, specifically in funding a “cultural preservation program.”
“That is a welcome development,” Baguilat said, adding that Ifugaos “are a people once enamored with American governor-generals and anthropologists.”
